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Wednesday, 14 August 2013

Chronic Pain and Happiness

Being happy is a difficult challenge for most of us. It is a
state of mind, an intangible state of being. No one other than yourself can say
whether or not you are happy. But what about those people who have the added
challenge of living with chronic pain? These
are people who are not dying from their illness, but rather live a life with
some element of ongoing pain.

Working as a health professional I come across many people
who experience some sort of chronic pain condition. Arthritis, phantom limb
pain, recurrent migraine, chronic back pain, diabetic nerve pain; the list goes
on. There are so many people who have these conditions, yet while doctors do
everything they can to relieve the ailments, sometimes these conditions cause
symptoms that some people just have to learn to live with.

If someone punched you in the stomach, or you stubbed your
toe or banged your head; in that moment it is highly unlikely that you will
feel happy. While this may hurt for a short while and makes you feel a bit
sore, this pain will go away. This is acute, short lived pain. For people with
chronic pain, their pain is ongoing and has varying degrees of severity. Being
in pain is a miserable experience, so how do people with chronic pain manage to be happy?

Happiness means different things to everyone, as does pain.
Experiencing pain, like happiness, can only be described by the person feeling
it. No one can measure or record someone else’s pain experience.

Pain management is such a complex issue, and emotional well
being has a major effect on how well a person lives with their pain. Understanding pain, learning coping
strategies, taking medication, practising relaxation techniques, exercising as
appropriate are all regarded to be essential in the management of chronic pain.

As we all know, happiness is a different state of being for
each individual. Living with chronic pain does not make being happy impossible,
far from it. Being able to move freely
or perhaps not experiencing any pain one day might be things that elate chronic
pain sufferers.

For pain sufferers, the extent to which each individual
manages their pain has a huge effect on their happiness. Chronic pain
management is a complex issue, and sufferers should seek help from their doctor
or therapist, as there is no need for anyone to face chronic pain alone.